Below are questions asked by a reporter for Danville's Advocate Messenger (local newspaper from where Centre College is) concerning my return, and my answers... Mandy wrote a couple articles about my Egyptian experiences the week I was evacuated and this was her follow up about me coming back to Egypt.
Hi Morgan,
I just read your e-mail, and I'm absolutely thrilled for you! It's a rare and wonderful thing to get to interview someone as passionate as you, and am so glad that you get to continue your work.
As for our reads, I'd love to keep them updated, as well.
Is there any way we may be able to Skype sometime today? If so let me know what would be a good time. I know there's a time difference, but I can be here later tonight or tomorrow morning.
If that's not possible here are a couple questions I have:
You said everything seems "very normal." What are some of the sites and instances that made you feel this way?
How do you think this entire experience will influence your future work with Middle Eastern Studies?
What is are your greatest hopes for your Egyptian friends as they work through this transition?
Have you seen anything that particularly moved you since you've been back?
How do you feel about returning to teaching?
When will you return home?
Hey Mandy,
Sorry for the delay, but readjusting to the time change again is proving more difficult than I expected, and it is really wearing on me. I am also overwhelmed by the amount of hesitancy I now have with Arabic despite my progress before leaving. I am trying to be patient as I work through this, but it will definitely be a long process.
To answer your questions:
--Things seem normal here because they appear the same as when I left. Store and restaurants are open during their usual times. The transportation systems appear to be functioning normally as well. The tram is as crowded as ever and traffic is congested just like before! Prices in restaurants and the grocery have not changes as far as I can tell. There is still a 12am-6am curfew, but this doesn't influence me really because there aren't really many places to go that time of night. I walk around my usual route- to and from school, Arabic, church, ect... just like before.
--I hope what I have experienced thus far and what I will learn/experience by being back in Egypt will better prepare me for my future career. As I told you before, I hope to work for the government in foreign policy advising or diplomacy, and so being here among the people, learning their language and experiencing this historical transition will give me more insight to bring to such career. It also is influential for my development as a person, in general. I am learning a lot about what it means to be a minority, live outside my comfort zone, and develop friendships with people who come from very different backgrounds.
--I hope that my friends are able to play an active role in the transformation through a fair electoral process. It would also be cool for them to have opportunities to work on campaigns, if they found that interesting. While I do not think protesting and demonstrating all the time is necessarily productive, I hope they are able to voice their concerns and opinions in a tangible way that is taken in account by the new leaders. I want them to continue to feel a sense of ownership and pride for their country and its development.
--I was initially excited by the Egyptian flags painted EVERYWHERE. There are tons of bumper-stickers on cars and light posts too. It is great to see the overwhelming sense of national pride.
--I have a meeting with the Dean of Science this week to discuss my teaching schedule. I hope to be useful to the students in a creative and meaningful way, so hopefully that will be something we can work out. I do not think my resources as a native speaker were used as effectively as possible last semester, so I hope to change that now that I am starting in a new department.
--The plan as of now is to return to the States at the end of the summer so that I can prepare to move to New York City for grad school at Columbia.
Let me know if there is anything else I can do for your article....
thanks,
morgan
Hi Morgan,
I just read your e-mail, and I'm absolutely thrilled for you! It's a rare and wonderful thing to get to interview someone as passionate as you, and am so glad that you get to continue your work.
As for our reads, I'd love to keep them updated, as well.
Is there any way we may be able to Skype sometime today? If so let me know what would be a good time. I know there's a time difference, but I can be here later tonight or tomorrow morning.
If that's not possible here are a couple questions I have:
You said everything seems "very normal." What are some of the sites and instances that made you feel this way?
How do you think this entire experience will influence your future work with Middle Eastern Studies?
What is are your greatest hopes for your Egyptian friends as they work through this transition?
Have you seen anything that particularly moved you since you've been back?
How do you feel about returning to teaching?
When will you return home?
Hey Mandy,
Sorry for the delay, but readjusting to the time change again is proving more difficult than I expected, and it is really wearing on me. I am also overwhelmed by the amount of hesitancy I now have with Arabic despite my progress before leaving. I am trying to be patient as I work through this, but it will definitely be a long process.
To answer your questions:
--Things seem normal here because they appear the same as when I left. Store and restaurants are open during their usual times. The transportation systems appear to be functioning normally as well. The tram is as crowded as ever and traffic is congested just like before! Prices in restaurants and the grocery have not changes as far as I can tell. There is still a 12am-6am curfew, but this doesn't influence me really because there aren't really many places to go that time of night. I walk around my usual route- to and from school, Arabic, church, ect... just like before.
--I hope what I have experienced thus far and what I will learn/experience by being back in Egypt will better prepare me for my future career. As I told you before, I hope to work for the government in foreign policy advising or diplomacy, and so being here among the people, learning their language and experiencing this historical transition will give me more insight to bring to such career. It also is influential for my development as a person, in general. I am learning a lot about what it means to be a minority, live outside my comfort zone, and develop friendships with people who come from very different backgrounds.
--I hope that my friends are able to play an active role in the transformation through a fair electoral process. It would also be cool for them to have opportunities to work on campaigns, if they found that interesting. While I do not think protesting and demonstrating all the time is necessarily productive, I hope they are able to voice their concerns and opinions in a tangible way that is taken in account by the new leaders. I want them to continue to feel a sense of ownership and pride for their country and its development.
--I was initially excited by the Egyptian flags painted EVERYWHERE. There are tons of bumper-stickers on cars and light posts too. It is great to see the overwhelming sense of national pride.
--I have a meeting with the Dean of Science this week to discuss my teaching schedule. I hope to be useful to the students in a creative and meaningful way, so hopefully that will be something we can work out. I do not think my resources as a native speaker were used as effectively as possible last semester, so I hope to change that now that I am starting in a new department.
--The plan as of now is to return to the States at the end of the summer so that I can prepare to move to New York City for grad school at Columbia.
Let me know if there is anything else I can do for your article....
thanks,
morgan
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